OK, so I am looking at the AEF and AP designs stuff, and there sure are some neat conversions out there based on the T-55! I really want to doa few, but the cost o the donor Tamiya kit is dang-hi! Are some of the "other" makes of the T-55 OK for some of these conversions? What has been htis board's exerience, please?

Tamiya is the only way to go.

Trumpeters offerings are ok, but clunky and a bit out of scale. THey were part of Trumpeters transition from toy to "static model". I know the SP Designs stuff will not work well with the Trumpeter kits.

AMT/ESCI/ERTL kits are ok, but have more accuracy issues. They are worth $3-$5, and can be a fun build, but they will need more TLC. SP Designs conversion will not work well with these kits either (sense a theme here)

Lindberg...won't even discuss it.

So, Tamiya is really the only way to go. Check eBay, sometimes you can get some good deals.